Disclaimers, ratings, name, etc can be found in prologue.
Author's Notes: Nearing the end at last. I debate whether to post the last two chapters together, I assure you - after you read Chapter 34 you will be dying for Chapter 35, the stunning conclusion. I guess I'll leave it up to majority vote - if you're all about suspense and cliffhangers and want to drag out your enjoyment of this fic as much as possible, let me know - if not, I'll put 'em up together and finish it in one fell swoop.
Thanks to all those who gave me birthday wishes ::hugs:: My BD was great!
Quick recs:
Draca's 'Singularity', yes, I've rec'd it before but I'm doing it again! This girl deserves the attention and so does this awesome piece of work.
Pmad – 'NOES 6: Dark Relevations' – Pmad does a story with Alice! Maggie is in there too though – she is, after all, the Maggie queen.
So many more – aw gawd – I want to pimp/rec everyone but I'm reaching the end and can only do so many – this is, in fact, probably the last chapter I'll do it on – I don't want things to slow down an inch in the next following chapters – they are fast paced and should be read as such!
More warnings…
WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE
WARNING: VIOLENCE/DEATH/GORE
WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGERY
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Chapter 33
The dreamscape had once again been changed by its master's whim, transforming into a desolate canyon. Jagged rocks and crevasses ran from end to endless end, resembling the Grand Canyon. Vultures soared over head, cawing, some swooping down to feed on the dead carcasses that rested at the bottom of the ravine.
The carcass' resembled past victims that had fallen thanks to Krueger. One pecked at a cadaver resembling Lori, plucking her eye out to swallow down its gullet. Others drove sharp beaks into Nancy Thompson's soft middle and yet others feasted on Jesse Walsh.
High above them, crouched down was Freddy Krueger himself, overlooking their actions from the edge of a cliff. Lightening flashed between thick cumulus clouds clumped together in the dark sky, thunder rumbling as if to perfectly reflect the Dream Stalker's mood.
He leaned back on his haunches, razor fingers tapping up and down rhythmically where they rested on his kneecap.
At this moment he should have been overjoyed. He'd killed so many - including Doc and Lori, two of his oldest enemies. He'd managed to strike fear into the hearts of many and the deaths of his other victims was within his grasp. Everything was falling into place and victory was so close-
But all his thoughts revolved around was her.
Samara.
He could feel her slipping. She'd actually had the gall to attack him! Worse, to reject him! True, he'd merely been playing with her, teasing, but she had taken it seriously. Reacted like a…human.
He had to admit - however, that he felt some small, begrudging respect at her actions.
She was no fool. She had recognized his ruse - realizing it was another attempt to control her.
After all - sex, lust, desire - what gave you more power than that? He would have had her - crawling on her knees, begging for attention - his attention. Desperate, starving for a small piece of physical contact from him…
But she had seen through it, fought it, denied it -
In fact, the whole scenario had reversed on to him. He wanted her now more than ever. She was his! HIS! When would she see this?!
A growl escaped the Dream Killer's throat and he catapulted himself to his feet. He hated to examine his obsession with the girl. His attachment to her was…uncharacteristic. Unnatural. But he refused to lose another ally - to lose her. Especially her. He wasn't going to lose her to these bastards, that much was for sure. Either she'd come around or he'd kill her.
But then her voice came to him, unbidden, something she had said long ago:
Can you go through with it?
He scowled, his thoughts flickering over their close encounters. Shit, he could still taste her on his tongue…
Enough thinking! His thoughts thundered, time for some screaming…
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The road was slick with rain as the clouds burst, lightning zig-zagging across the sky. The wind ripped viciously along the sides of Alice's car as she drove as fast as she could, her eyes casting to the backseat where Maggie and Angela sat, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Angela?"
"You all said you've been trying to call Will for hours-"
Maggie interrupted, cell glued to her ear, "I'm still trying and getting no answer."
Angela continued, nodding, "So the best thing to do is go to the school. I can pull up his file on my computer, find out where his dorm is and we can go from there."
"Yeah Mom, maybe they'll even be someone there who knows where he went."
"What about Sam? Maybe we should just confront her-"
Jacob let out a breath, "She wasn't very confiding to begin with, Mom. We don't know where she lives either and it would be stupid to go toe to toe with Freddy's accomplice right now. We need to get Will, regroup, come up with a plan-"
"We're running out of time for plans! We have to do something and we have to do it now," Angela muttered.
Maggie suddenly narrowed her eyes, turning to the brunette, "You know, Angela, I've been meaning to ask you what the hell you thought you were doing in the dreamscape."
She blinked, "What do you mean?"
"Oh come on!" the other woman barked, "The glove! Why we're you trying to provoke him?! He's dangerous, he doesn't need…and Angela, for god's sake you were wearing the glove and brandishing it around like - like…"
"You were wearing the glove?!" Jacob gasped.
"In the dreamscape," Maggie confirmed, "When she came to save me she was wearing it"
"I could wear it now," She drew it out of her purse and holding it out for their view, "See?"
"Jesus Christ! Put that thing away!"
"No! I'm not afraid of it like the rest of you, it's been in my possession for a very long time!"
"Angela, please, this isn't-"
"What?!" She hissed, "Healthy? No maybe not but who gives a shit! Maybe I went a bit overboard back there but I want this son of a bitch to know I'm coming for him!"
"Angela, you can't fight him…not like this…not with that." Alice said calmly, trying to defuse the situation.
"I know, fighting him physically won't work but mentally-"
"What? You think showing him his own glove will knock him off balance! All it's going to do rile him up, he'll go after you-"
"Too late! He's all ready after me! He started this, not me! Fear powers him? Then I'm not going to be afraid! This glove - his glove - the one he used to kill my brother - is the key. This fucking thing is a symbol of power - his power and I'm not afraid to wield it because I know it's going to be his fucking downfall, I know it. I know it."
Maggie and Alice exchanged a look, both obviously thinking the guidance counselor was more off balanced than they had realized when Jacob shook his head, mumbling under his breath, "Freddy and Sam..."
Alice overheard and rolled her eyes, "Would you get off of that?"
"I still can't believe it…"
"Why not? Even Chucky got lucky." Alice cracked and Jacob turned to his mom wide eyed at her pop culture reference. She saw the look and couldn't help but giggle as they turned into the school parking lot.
They all piled out of the car. The rain had died off but left everything soaked and slippery as the foursome dashed towards the administrative building. Jacob was following up behind them when suddenly his sneaker slid against the slick pavement, causing him to pitch backward and hit his head.
Alice turned and screamed in terror. Maggie and Angela turned also, startled by the other woman's outcry when they saw the cause. The women went to Jacob's side, falling to their knees. Alice's hands were shaking as she reached for her son, lifting him in her arms, shaking him as she sobbed his name over and over.
She drew her hand out from behind his scalp and found it covered in crimson blood, her sobs grew worse, "Nooo! Jesus, no! Jacob! JACOB!"
Maggie pulled off her suit jacket and bundled it up, placing it on the ground under his head, "Here, lay him back down..."
"Jacob…" Alice moaned, still clutching her son's body close.
"ALICE! Do it!" Maggie shouted.
The horrified mother obeyed, laying her son back onto the jacket and still clinging to him tightly, "My boy, my boy, my baby boy…"
"Is he going to be all right?!" Angela asked.
"I don't know!" Maggie bit out, "He's bleeding - we need an ambulance, he could have head trauma…"
"Freddy!" Alice suddenly screeched, her tear blurred eyes wide with sudden clarity, "He could get him! Jacob's out - he could be dreaming…"
"Alice," Maggie insisted steely, "We need to call 911-"
"We need to save my son!" she bellowed, "We need to wake him up! We need-"
"Go in after him," Angela breathed, "Go after him, Alice! You're an Angel, an anchor, you have the power to pull him out-"
"You two are out of your minds!" Maggie shouted, "This is a medical emergency, we need a fucking ambulance!"
"Then make the call!" Angela cried angrily at her, "But while you do that Alice can go in and protect her son! We can't gamble on what could kill Jacob first this fall or your father!"
Maggie looked livid but Alice was nodding madly, "Yes, yes I have to go in, save my baby…but how I can't - I can't fall asleep on command…"
Angela looked around, trying to find something heavy. Her eyes landed on the front door of the Administrative office where a groundskeeper had left a rake leaned against the building. She rushed over, grabbing it and returned to Alice.
She took hold of the lower half, making sure only the wooden shaft faced forward. She drew it back like a baseball bat, feeling the adrenaline race through her as she said gruffly, "Then we'll put you to sleep."
With that she delivered a forceful blow to the back of Alice's head, knocking her out. Maggie's eyes were wild as she rose to her feet and slapped the other woman across the face, "Are you crazy?! Why did you-"
"It was the only way!" Angela bit out, hand raised to rub her stinging cheek.
"But now we have two people with possible-"
"I told you, call the ambulance then! But at least now they have a fighting chance in the dreamscape!"
"If they're dreaming!" Maggie hissed, eyes narrowed and cold, "If you didn't just kill them…"
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Will kept looking over at Samara, she caught this and her eyebrows knitted together, "What?"
"Nothing…it's nothing it's just…you look really good tonight."
Samara looked down. She was once again wearing what she had worn to the club, her dark hair still streaked with vibrant red, she frowned, "I…didn't get a chance to buy much clothes since leaving Westin."
Will shook his head, "You misunderstood me. I like that outfit. You could wear it everyday and look good, you could wear anything and look good, you just…look good."
Samara's brow was still furrowed and he swallowed, blushing, "I - I'm sorry. I'm not very good with words."
She looked down at her feet, her own cheeks tinged pink, "Neither am I."
He sighed, "I…guess I'm just nervous."
"About this?"
"About you," he whispered, his eyes turning her way again, "You make me nervous…because I like you."
The pink on her cheeks blossomed to red and Samara felt her lips twitching, almost as if wanting to smile. This boy was stupid. But he was sweetly so.
Will had begun searching his pockets during the drive and a frown began to form, "Where…"
"What's wrong?"
"I can't seem to find my wallet," he muttered, turning red again but for a new reason now. He ran a hand through his hair, looking rather sheepish, "I hope you don't mind…I mean is it okay for me to run by the college and-"
Samara merely nodded and he let out a breath, "Thanks, I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Samara said with a shrug.
They turned a particularly sharp corner as they got closer to the school and the van's tires squealed against the wet pavement, slipping slightly. Will gripped tightly to the wheel, "Whoa!"
Not having fastened her seatbelt, Samara pitched to one side, bumping into Will. He managed to get control of the van again, slowly pulling it into the college parking lot.
He pulled the van to a stop and shut off the engine but didn't move another muscle, his jaw tight, heart throbbing in his ears. He could feel the soft weight of Samara's body pressed so close to his, smell her hair, feel her breath on his skin.
Samara moved slowly too, as she sat up, her hand brushing his. Will turned his head cautiously, looking at her. Their faces were only inches apart. His eyes caught on the choker he'd given her, the silver sparkling, then they moved upward, falling on her lips.
He swallowed and looked into her eyes, the dark bottomless depths. Those eyes…
He couldn't even begin to explain what they did to him, he felt captivated and they were just so…familiar. He raised his hand and let the back of his fingers gently brushed her cheek, feeling the damp soft skin, letting it drift down to pass her neck, threading through a few silky strands of her hair.
He inched closer, bringing his mouth in proximity of hers. They were both bearly breathing, focused in solely on this moment. Their eyes met once more and then his lips lightly caressed hers.
A scream tore through the night air and they broke apart swiftly. Will's heart was pounding and his breath came out in whoosh as his chest rose and fell, voice startled, "What was that?!"
He turned and looked at her. She merely shrugged and he opened his door hastily, "We better find out."
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Alice opened her eyes to see she was in front of 1428 Elm Street, she shuddered, she had hoped to never see that house again. She looked around, frantic, "Jacob! Jacob!"
There was no answer and Alice frowned but stood up straight, determined as she bellowed the name that at one point she couldn't even bear to think, "Krueger!"
No answer.
"KRUEGER!"
Still nothing. Alice started to walk around, continuing to cry out his name, she searched around, even going inside the loathed house but found nothing. Finally she stopped trying to call him out, speaking in a normal volume, "I know you can hear me, Freddy. I know you're out there. You're trying to scare me, but it's not going to work. I've defeated you twice before and as far as I'm concerned, third time's a charm."
Alice heard a noise behind her and reacted, turning swiftly, making sure to take the proper martial arts stance. A cat ran out from behind the house, scampering off into the distance. She watched it leave, still in fighting stance, waiting, anticipating…
She felt breath on the back of her neck and turned quickly. Nothing there. She took in a deep breath, "Come on you bastard…make your move…"
A voice came from overhead, You actually think you can fight me?
Alice turned from side to side, looking around but saw no one. It was almost as if he had spoken inside her mind. She grinned, "I won't just fight you, I'll beat you."
Really?
"Like I said, I've done it before, I'll do it again. I'm not afraid anymore, Freddy. I'm not scared. I grew up. I'm an adult now and I know the truth, about the Dream Angels…I know I'm one of them and you have my son and I want him back. Let him go or better yet, stop being a coward and face me!"
There was a brief silence and Alice waited. A twig snapped behind her. She turned, letting out a cry as she delivering a high powered roundhouse to the person behind her.
Freddy stumbled backwards at the attack. Alice took his momentary loss of balance and turned it to her advantage, delivering a series of blows - kicks, jabs, and punches landing all over him. He didn't fight back, either overwhelmed by the ferocity of her onslaught or unprepared for the martial arts maneuvers she executed.
Every time he raised his hands to possibly counter she deflected it, retaliating with more. Eventually he collapsed to the ground but she did not stop, did not let up. Instead she continued to strike him, beyond reason, beyond sanity. She wanted to kill him, crush him, beat him to death…
He would not kill again! He would not touch her son! He would not-
"Mom!"
Alice turned and saw Jacob emerge from the house.
"Jacob!" she cried, she left Freddy, rushing to her son to give him a bone-crushing hug, "Jacob, Jacob, thank God I was so worried…"
"Mom," Jacob hugged her back tightly.
Freddy slowly uncurled from the heap on the ground, spitting out blood. He turned and saw Alice and Jacob embracing. His eyes widened and he shook his head, "No, no…"
"I love you, Jacob," Alice whispered, tearing rolling down her cheeks, "I love you so much…"
Freddy got to his feet, clutching his side, head shaking, eyes still wide as he tried to catch his breath, gasping over and over with panic in his voice, "No, no…"
"I love you too, Mom," Jacob whispered smiling.
"No," Freddy cried, reaching a hand out, voice breaking as he screamed, "MOM!"
Alice turned to Freddy startled. In an instant the Jacob in her arms transformed into Freddy and the Freddy she had just beaten turned into her son. She suddenly realized her deadly mistake, the switch dawning on her as Freddy held her close, still smiling, "If you're an angel…"
He drew back his gloved hand, "I'll send you to heaven!"
He drove his claws deep into her.